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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 20:52:26 GMT
I was just perusing Facebook and was shocked to see someone asking for suggestions for being at home as their area of Canada is entering a new 4 week lockdown.
So, where do you live and what is the state of things there?
I’m in DFW, Texas and it feels like the pandemic is pretty much over.
Students have been back at school in person since September. Businesses have been open since summer. Everything is open 100% now with no restrictions and there is no mask mandate. Everyone who wants a vaccine can get one easily. Our vaccine hubs don’t even require appointments anymore, if you want one you can just walk in and get one.
Cases have declined steadily for the past month despite the removal of the mask mandate.
I feel like there aren’t many travel restrictions. I’ve flown and been to about a dozen states during the pandemic. I’ve been to amusement parks, restaurants, museums, and even live theatre.
It’s just interesting to me how one area can be in lockdown and another area can be back to normal.
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iowgirl
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Jun 25, 2014 22:52:46 GMT
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Post by iowgirl on Apr 12, 2021 21:01:16 GMT
I don't go so much by my state, but by my county. The seven day average is 1. It seems like there is about one case a week, some weeks none. The highest count recently was 5 in early January.
Mask wearing is so/so. I do wear mine to grocery shop, but not everyone does. I don't wear it when I go out to eat, but I haven't been out to eat anywhere in about 3 weeks.
School has been back in session all year, starting in late August. Sports were 100%, although reduced crowds for some earlier sports.
Not too concerned about it in my immediate bubble of life.
If you want some indication of what my county is like. There is one stop light in the entire county, and it is about 40 miles from me.
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Post by crafty on Apr 12, 2021 21:01:38 GMT
My state still has mandates in place, and I hope they stay for awhile longer, and our cases are declining. We no longer have a travel quarantine rule, but I don’t think many followed it anyway.
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Post by mom on Apr 12, 2021 21:08:39 GMT
I am in the same state as myshelly and life is back to normal for us. My county spent several weeks (I think 7?) as one of the nations hot spots of Covid and we now have around 5 cases.
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Post by gar on Apr 12, 2021 21:10:54 GMT
Are you wanting to know about the England? Other countries of the UK have their own rules We have taken another step to normality today with pubs able to serve drinks outside only and non essential shops re-opening. Masks are still obligatory pretty much anywhere indoors. We can’t mix in our homes still. Numbers are down hugely but from a high level. The scientists are saying that the link between infection and deaths is being broken.
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The Great Carpezio
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Apr 12, 2021 21:12:44 GMT
Going by a local store yesterday, many think it is over, but that is not the case.
We have a mask mandate, and still some restrictions for dining, stores and venues, but they are much less than they were. Schools are either hybrid or in person 100% but we all wear masks and have social distancing practices in place. Our numbers vary from county and region of the state, but we have the UK variant in Minnesota and our numbers are rising fairly alarmingly. I had my room contact traced last week, and my school district is at around 47 cases per 10K average, By MDH guidelines, we should be distance learning. We are full f2f. The county I live in has dozens of cases a day.
And since a friend of ours died yesterday due to covid complications, I would say the pandemic isn’t over.
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smartypants71
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Post by smartypants71 on Apr 12, 2021 21:14:06 GMT
Things are business as usual here. My son works at a busy restaurant/bar here, and he says it's packed. If any numbers are up, I believe it's in the early 20s demographic.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 21:14:24 GMT
Are you wanting to know about the UK? We have taken another step to normality today with pubs able to serve drinks outside only and non essential shops re-opening. Masks are still obligatory pretty much anywhere indoors. We can’t mix in our homes still. Numbers are down hugely but from a high level. The scientists are saying that the link between infection and deaths is being broken. I would love to know about the UK, Canada, anywhere really. Thank you.
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The Great Carpezio
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Something profound goes here.
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Apr 12, 2021 21:16:24 GMT
I would also bet money that the cases will start to fall here in about a month or so in the Midwest and rise in the south as ours fall. It seems to be the trend.
I also think that some red states don’t promote testing as much as some of the blue states and that can be deceiving.
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wellway
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Post by wellway on Apr 12, 2021 21:16:48 GMT
Here in England, today has meant the relaxing of some of lockdown rules with the next rule changes in five weeks time if there is no big impact from today's changes. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56710858From article The rule changes in England from Monday include: All shops can reopen Hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services can open Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors Gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres can all open Members of the same household can take a holiday in England in self-contained accommodation Non-essential journeys between England and Wales are allowed Up to 15 people can attend weddings and 30 can attend funerals Children can attend any indoor children's activity Care home visitors will increase to two per resident Driving lessons can resume, with tests restarting on 22 April The rule changes in England marks the third easing since the country's third national lockdown began on 6 January. There is a gap of at least five weeks between each step on the government's "roadmap" out of lockdown, to allow the impact of changes on infection rates and hospital admissions to be assessed.
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Post by melanieg on Apr 12, 2021 21:19:32 GMT
Im in Alberta and we went back down to Step 1 in our process last week due to our high numbers. Basically restaurants/bars/lounges are closed, zero indoor gatherings, max 10 for outdoor gatherings (6ft apart, masks), 15% capacity in stores, malls, churches. Salons, Massage Therapy, Chiro, etc all appt only no walk ins. Lots more but whatever you get the idea. We are seeing apx 1000-1200 positive cases a day and 1/2 are the UK Variant - they say now if you test positive most likely it is a variant. Compare this to the 1st wave and we were doing really good with less than 100 a day. Apparently we are in the 3rd wave. Our provinces are not recommending interprovincial travel (the Atlantic provinces are hoping to have the Atlantic Bubble again this summer, but will be closed to the rest of Canada still). As a province there is still a mask mandate. Our city just extended the mandate to 31DEC21.
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 12, 2021 21:20:34 GMT
What are your case numbers like right now, myshelly? We are still seeing 250+ new cases a day (about 2% positivity) and +/- 10 deaths in the County. These numbers have been good enough to lift some restrictions, so limited indoor dining and gyms are open again. I was shopping with DD last week and it was the first time I've seen change rooms open in a store. The mask mandate is in place and vaccines in high demand. County residents have been traveling out of county as far as Bakersfield (5 hour drive?) to get vaccinations because they can't get in county appointments. The largest school district in the county went back to in-person learning today.
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Post by katlady on Apr 12, 2021 21:22:25 GMT
Cases are surging in Michigan. This is definitely not over.
California overall is doing much better. My county is in the orange tier now, lot of places are open again, including theme parks and museums. Most schools reopened this month. There are still masks mandates in place, along with limitations on capacity. Starting April 15th, vaccines open up to anyone 16+. Appointments are still not easy to get.
I haven't eaten inside a restaurant yet, and we haven't flown anywhere since 2019. We are still cautious, but my SO isn't fully vaccinated yet. After he is, we will start doing more things out of the house.
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Peal
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Post by Peal on Apr 12, 2021 21:25:59 GMT
Our rates are falling, but I think testing is falling too. So, it's not a completely accurate snapshot.
Our mask mandate ended on Saturday and only two businesses had someone threaten to kill people who asked them to wear a mask.
It's going pretty great /s
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Post by christine58 on Apr 12, 2021 21:26:14 GMT
And since a friend of ours died yesterday due to covid complications, I would say the pandemic isn’t over. I am so very sorry Here in NYS, depends really on where you live. NYC is still a hotbed while other areas are ok. Where I am we are at about 3% 7 day average.
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kate
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Post by kate on Apr 12, 2021 21:26:26 GMT
The testing-positive rate in my zip code is hovering around 5%. Masks are required indoors; most people wear them outdoors, as well. Young people (20's?) are the exception, according to my very un-scientific observation. With the nicer weather, I've definitely seen groups of unmasked young people on the street.
According to a local epidemiologist at a talk last week, hospitalization rates have stabilized, but at a very high rate. He said staffing is strained. For the public, it's "out of sight, out of mind" because there are not the constant sirens in the street, and the refrigerated trucks are not parked outside to hold the morgue overflow.
My school and my kids' schools are open for in-person learning, but it's not "normal" (masks, distancing, pods, weekly covid testing, etc.). My college kid and the college where DH teaches are online. Most businesses are open with restrictions.
Vaccine appointments are difficult to get unless you're elderly. Although 16+ are eligible, many vaccine locations are only serving older age groups.
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Post by maryland on Apr 12, 2021 21:28:03 GMT
We are in PA and our numbers were going up last week. We still have a mask mandate, so I don't know why it's worse here than in areas where they don't have a mask mandate and are fully open. We are at 75% capacity for restaurants.
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Post by katlady on Apr 12, 2021 21:30:17 GMT
What are your case numbers like right now, myshelly? According to this, Texas has a 6% positivity rate and less than 20% have been fully vaccinated. So, does that mean 80% of the population won't get vaccinated since according to myshelly there is no waiting for the vaccine in Texas? I think in California, 23% have been fully vaccinated, and we have a shortage of vaccines here. Plus not everyone is eligible for a vaccine yet. coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/us/texas
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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 21:31:59 GMT
What are your case numbers like right now, myshelly? We are still seeing 250+ new cases a day (about 2% positivity) and +/- 10 deaths in the County. These numbers have been good enough to lift some restrictions, so limited indoor dining and gyms are open again. I was shopping with DD last week and it was the first time I've seen change rooms open in a store. The mask mandate is in place and vaccines in high demand. County residents have been traveling out of county as far as Bakersfield (5 hour drive?) to get vaccinations because they can't get in county appointments. The largest school district in the county went back to in-person learning today. Yesterday the state reported 1516 new positive cases and 26 deaths. The hospitals have shut their Covid units down and we have the lowest number of hospitalized Covid patients since May 2020.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 21:33:27 GMT
What are your case numbers like right now, myshelly? According to this, Texas has a 6% positivity rate and less than 20% have been fully vaccinated. So, does that mean 80% of the population won't get vaccinated since according to myshelly there is no waiting for the vaccine in Texas? I think in California, 23% have been fully vaccinated, and we have a shortage of vaccines here. Plus not everyone is eligible for a vaccine yet. coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/us/texas1/3 of Texans have received at least their first dose. The article just says 1/3 of “Texans,” so there must be some % of Texans who are under 16 and therefore can’t receive it. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if there are large numbers of people who don’t want it. Everyone 16 and up can receive it.
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Post by Karene on Apr 12, 2021 21:35:28 GMT
I'm in the area of Canada with the new 4-week (at minimum) lockdown. I am now laid off again. Only groceries, medicine and cleaning supplies are considered essential so only stores selling these can remain open with very limited capacity. Stores like Walmart and Costco must block off all non-essential items in their stores. Grocery stores and drug stores are open, everyone else is curbside delivery. No salons, indoor or outdoor dining, gyms, etc, or any kind of entertainment. We can go outside to exercise, of course.
Our numbers had come way down but because of the variants, they have soared and our ICU units are filled. They were keeping schools open but just announced today that they will close to in-person learning indefinitely.
My own town is doing okay. It is a small town. We have a few cases but nobody is hospitalized. What I can't figure out is why there are so many cars on the road considering everything is closed! Where are they all going?
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Post by mnmloveli on Apr 12, 2021 21:47:06 GMT
I’m in New York.
Last year on 4/12/20 we had 8,435 new cases and 9,620 on a rolling 7-Day average. This year on 4/11/21 we had 6,577 new cases and 7,238 on a rolling 7-Day average. That’s still a lot of new cases to me.
Restaurants are open to 75%. Movie theaters are open. Stores and restaurants still require masks. Most people I see food shopping all have masks on. Quite a number of people I know think we are opening too soon with so many new cases now and the really nice weather not even here yet.
People completely vaccinated 25% People with at least one vaccination 38% Medical / Hospital staff vaccinated 50%
NYC is a ghost town. Sooo many closed restaurants and stores. Most large businesses such as MLB, advertising agencies and insurance companies are still working from home. The subway and rail lines are at less than half capacity.
I have not been to a restaurant, movie theater or indoor event in over a year. I don’t see that happening anytime soon for us.
Stay safe !
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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 21:49:52 GMT
I’m in New York. Last year on 4/12/20 we had 8,435 new cases and 9,620 on a rolling 7-Day average. This year on 4/11/21 we had 6,577 new cases and 7,238 on a rolling 7-Day average. That’s still a lot of new cases to me. Restaurants are open to 75%. Movie theaters are open. Stores and restaurants still require masks. Most people I see food shopping all have masks on. Quite a number of people I know think we are opening too soon with so many new cases now and the really nice weather not even here yet. People completely vaccinated 25% People with at least one vaccination 38% Medical / Hospital staff vaccinated 50% NYC is a ghost town. Sooo many closed restaurants and stores. Most large businesses such as MLB, advertising agencies and insurance companies are still working from home. The subway and rail lines are at less than half capacity. I have not been to a restaurant, movie theater or indoor event in over a year. I don’t see that happening anytime soon for us. Stay safe ! Are those numbers for the state or for NYC? Those do seem like a high number for all the shutdowns you’ve had. Our cases have steadily declined since we reopened.
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Post by mnmloveli on Apr 12, 2021 21:53:00 GMT
I’m in New York. Last year on 4/12/20 we had 8,435 new cases and 9,620 on a rolling 7-Day average. This year on 4/11/21 we had 6,577 new cases and 7,238 on a rolling 7-Day average. That’s still a lot of new cases to me. Restaurants are open to 75%. Movie theaters are open. Stores and restaurants still require masks. Most people I see food shopping all have masks on. Quite a number of people I know think we are opening too soon with so many new cases now and the really nice weather not even here yet. People completely vaccinated 25% People with at least one vaccination 38% Medical / Hospital staff vaccinated 50% NYC is a ghost town. Sooo many closed restaurants and stores. Most large businesses such as MLB, advertising agencies and insurance companies are still working from home. The subway and rail lines are at less than half capacity. I have not been to a restaurant, movie theater or indoor event in over a year. I don’t see that happening anytime soon for us. Stay safe ! Are those numbers for the state or for NYC? Those do seem like a high number for all the shutdowns you’ve had. Our cases have steadily declined since we reopened. New York State numbers.
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Post by huskermom98 on Apr 12, 2021 21:58:27 GMT
I'm in Iowa and it's a mixed bag. The mask mandate was short lived, but a lot of places (schools, restaurants, businesses, etc.) continue to require/encourage one--at least here in our metro area. New cases for the state have been anywhere from 300-800 a day for the last couple of months. They dropped dramatically in February and have either held steady or slowly ticked up since then. It looks like we're sitting at 5% positivity rates for both 14 & 7 day averages (6& for my county).
Most of the school districts in the state have been full time since the start of the school year in August, but any districts that were still hybrid were forced to offer a 5 day option starting back in February (online only continues to be a required option so most districts have quit offering hybrid, so it's either all in or all out).
The vast majority of restaurants offer seated dining (ironically, a lot of fast food places still don't...) and they are starting to get busier as people venture out for the first time because they are fully vaccinated--they are competing for space with those of us who never stopped dining in. Restaurants are struggling to get enough staff hired back and trained, and they are slowly decreasing the amount of distancing between seating now that there's no longer a 6 foot mandate from the state.
Libraries are opening up again, sports continue to be played (high schools are no long mandated to limit spectators), graduations are being planned, and plans are moving ahead for the big Iowa State Fair in August.
Some people are getting frustrated that city/county/state office buildings are still closed down. I'm getting really irritated with our water company because something is wrong with the meter in our basement and they are not letting workers go into houses for any non-emergency repairs. So now we have to call in with our meter amount each month and ask if they are doing service calls yet..."maybe in a month or two"...
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Post by whipea on Apr 12, 2021 22:05:38 GMT
South Florida, Palm Beach County. We still have a mask mandate and still under state of emergency. From March 29 - April 11 we have had 5,381 new cases. Cases are lower but this party is far from over here. School will not be face to face until the fall.
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Post by christine58 on Apr 12, 2021 22:08:04 GMT
As of April 11 In NYS 131,436 were tested 4926 were + 7 day average of 3.2%
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Post by myshelly on Apr 12, 2021 22:13:15 GMT
South Florida, Palm Beach County. We still have a mask mandate and still under state of emergency. From March 29 - April 11 we have had 5,381 new cases. Cases are lower but this party is far from over here. School will not be face to face until the fall. Oh that’s very interesting to me. I had no idea places in Florida still had restrictions.
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Post by ralams3 on Apr 12, 2021 22:13:41 GMT
I am in Ontario, Canada.
We are in lock down (again) for 4 weeks. It was announced today that schools will not be in class next week. Right now, we are at home for our delayed March break.
I am in the midst of my 14 day isolation. I was exposed to Covid in the classroom. Thankfully, my 2 tests have come back negative.
There are 131 cases in my city, and 80 of those are university students. This is the highest number of cases we have had during the pandemic.
Chris
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Post by Neisey on Apr 12, 2021 22:15:39 GMT
I am in New Brunswick, population less than 800k. We have managed well for most of the pandemic, most people follow the mask mandate, follow various alert levels, closures, reopening etc. We are supposed to open to the other Atlantic provinces on the 19th but we have a surge of the UK variant in the northern part of the province which went into full lockdown. We have almost 150 active cases, which I know seems low to many of you. Currently our highest hospitalization rate with it hitting younger people very hard. Hoping that the lockdown is enough to contain it and keep the bubble opening. The problem is the variants are more contagious and vaccine distribution is patchy due to allotment, just not enough to go around yet. They say all NBers should have one shot by end June and 2 shots by end September. Fingers crossed!
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